Analyzing America's Dam Safety Crisis

In October 2015, torrential rainstorms in South Carolina caused 20 to 25 dams to fail.  The failure of these dams contributed to flooding in several parts of South Carolina.  As a result of the flooding, 17 people died and $12 billion worth of property was damaged.  Several of the dams that were breached in South Carolina were over 100 years old.  Nationwide there are 2,962 dams in the United States that are over 100 years old.

The catastrophic conditions in South Carolina last fall highlight the importance of having adequately maintained dams.  Unfortunately, the United States has not suitably maintained its vast network of dams.  The average age of dams in the U.S. is 54 years old.  Engineers estimate that about 70% of the 87,000 dams in America will be more than 50 years old by 2020.

A May 17, 2016 article from The Huffington Post.com states: “High-hazard dams, especially those that are poorly maintained, pose a threat to life and property across the country.  But no one actually knows the full risk that old and dilapidated dams create, according to Mark Ogden, a project manager at the Association of State Dam Safety Officials.”

Dams are designated as “high-hazard potential” when their collapse could cost human life.  According to Ogden most Americans do not realize the significant need that exists for more investment into dams.  Says Ogden: “It doesn’t get the attention that a lot of other infrastructure does.  People turn on their taps everyday but don’t realize that water is coming from a reservoir made by a dam.”

Since most dams in the United States are privately owned, the federal government cannot direct most dam owners to renovate their facilities.  All states, with the exception of Alabama, have dam safety agencies.

According to a National Public Radio report by Jessica Pupovac: “Inside of many of America’s dams, metal pipes and other structural components are degrading.  The process is accelerated by chemical runoff in the waterways, particularly in areas that have become more populated in recent decades.”

“With the huge number of dams getting older every day, it’s becoming a bigger and bigger problem.  The policing of maintenance and filing of inspection records is relatively haphazard, not because of lack of focus or knowledge of significance, but they don’t have the monetary resources to do it,” says Larry Roth, deputy executive director of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

* National Dam Safety Awareness Day – May 31, memorializes the collapse of the South Fork Dam in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 1889.  More than 2,200 people died in the incident.

* With 5,786 dams the state of New York has the most state regulated dams in the U.S.  The state of California has the largest dam safety budget: $12,811,000.

* The Association of State Dam Safety Officials estimates that it would cost $54 billion to repair all of the dams in the United States.

* The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that if funding levels remain the same it would take engineers 50 years to work through the backlog of federal dams in need of repair.

Sources:

“Aging and Underfunded: America’s Dam Safety Problem, In 4 Charts,” Jessica Pupovac, October 11, 2015. http://www.npr.org/2015/10/11/

“America’s Crumbling Dams Are A Disaster Waiting To Happen,” Casey Williams, May 18, 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/america-crumbling-dam-infrastructure

“Old American Dams Quietly Become A Multibillion-Dollar Threat.” www.wired.com2009/08/agingdams/

“The Growing Risk Associated With Dam Failure,” Jonathan Kinghorn, June 1, 2015. http://www.air-worldwide.com/Blog/The-Growing-Risk-Associated-With-Dam-Failure